By Jimmy Robertson
BLACKSBURG – Tech fans waffling on attending the Hokies' home opener Saturday against Old Dominion would be wise to pack their tailgate items and make the journey to Blacksburg.
Yes, the Hokies lost this past Saturday to BC in frustrating fashion, and sure, the Monarchs aren't a Power 5 school. But the upcoming game Saturday offers Hokie Nation to get an in-person glimpse of both the present and the future.
Tech's young talent will be on display again, as the Hokies look to avenge last season's lost to ODU and to move to .500 on the young season. That talent showed up in a big way this past weekend, with Tayvion Robinson, Kaleb Smith, Keshawn King and James Mitchell leading the way.
Robinson, Smith and Mitchell – a true freshman, a redshirt freshman, and a sophomore – all caught their first collegiate touchdown receptions. King, another true freshman, led the Hokies in rushing with 33 yards and also caught a pass.
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Many billed Robinson, a Virginia Beach, Virginia product, as the top recruit in the 2019 class, and he certainly looked the part against the Eagles. He led Tech with six receptions and finished with 72 yards. He made a great effort on his 20-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Ryan Willis, twisting away from the defender and diving at the last minute past the goal line.
"Just a little bit," Robinson said Tuesday at a news conference when asked if he was surprised at his usage rate. "All fall camp, me and Ryan were building that chemistry and connection, and he told me that, in the slot, it's kind of easier to get open because you're not going against a press corner all the time … Ryan gave me an opportunity. He threw great passes and he threw me my touchdown, and it was exciting.
"Going into fall camp, my main goal going in was to learn as much as I could on offense because that's what I was told during the summer, and I played a pretty big part this fall, getting a lot of reps with the 1's and 2's [first and second team]. And when the game time came, I was able to get in and contribute."
Robinson's performance comes as a bit of a surprise. For starters, he only weighs 186 pounds. Plus, he played quarterback at Cox High School, and high school quarterbacks don't always make a smooth transition to collegiate receivers.
In addition, receivers often do the most running in practices and in games, so Robinson needed to get himself in the proper condition. He got winded a couple of times in the BC game.
"It's a lot more detailed," Robinson said of playing receiver. " Of course, at quarterback, you have to know what everyone's doing. At receiver, it's a little easier just knowing your route, at first, coming in, but there is a lot to learn. The hardest part for me was the endurance and conditioning and having to run every play instead of sitting in the pocket. But it's been a good transition. Coach [Jafar] Williams, he's teaching me well and already taught me a lot."
Smith, another receiver, also made his presence felt. The 6-foot-2, 207-pounder took advantage of Damon Hazelton's injury and caught four passes for 62 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown from Willis.
Two years ago, Smith turned down a scholarship offer from Wake Forest and came to Tech as walk-on from Bumpass, Virginia – a small town an hour north of Richmond. But last week, head coach Justin Fuente gave Smith a scholarship in a move that certainly looks smart.
"I took an opportunity to come here over some other schools," Smith said. " I'm just really appreciative of all the coaches and my teammates because they all believed in me since day 1 when I got here. They all supported me through it, and I'm just glad it paid off.
"Growing up in Virginia, this was my dream school, and I always felt I could play at this level. I just wanted to prove myself and put the cards on myself and prove what I could do. I think it paid off."
At tailback, King figures to play an even bigger role Saturday. Tech lost Jalen Holston indefinitely to an undisclosed injury, thus leaving the running game in the hands of Deshawn McClease and King, who showed a noticeable burst this preseason.
Of course, the Orange Park, Florida native doesn't mind the extra work. Like most backs, he welcomes that, but he also knows that he needs to understand all of the Hokies' offensive concepts.
"There is something new all the time," King said. "You have to learn it, you have to know it, and then you have to go an execute it."
He and the rest of this young group expect to execute everything Saturday against ODU – and Hokie Nation would do well to be there and watch.
Here are a couple of other notes from Tuesday's news conference:
ELIMINATING BIG PLAYS ON DEFENSE
Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster liked the way his group played in the second half Saturday against BC, allowing just 76 yards of offense in the final 30 minutes. And actually, Tech's defense played well for 70 of BC's 75 plays, but those five played accounted for 202 of the Eagles' 432 yards of total offense. Those five included two pass plays of more than 50 yards.
"We saw what we can do if we settle down and play in the second half against a good offensive football team. Now we just got to do it on a consistent basis," Foster said. "One thing I told our kids defensively when we make a mistake, when we make a mental error, a critical error, it's no different than us turning the ball over throwing a pick. It doesn't come out in the stats as a turnover, but it can cost us a football game. They've got to understand that we've got to play error-free.
"We always try for perfection hoping to get excellence, but that's what we got to work towards. We can't be 75 percent on defense at this level. You're going to give up 35, 40 points every week. That's what our kids got to understand that every play counts. Every play is critical."
WILLIS ANXIOUS TO GET BACK IN ACTION
Quarterback Ryan Willis completed 29 of 47 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns in the loss to BC. He was six completions short of a school record, and his 344 yards were his most in a game as a Tech quarterback. Yet he committed four turnovers, throwing three interceptions and losing a fumble.
And he is more than ready to atone for that Saturday.
"I have to react quicker, and I have to bring it this week," Willis said. "I looked at myself in the mirror, and I said to myself, 'I have two choices: I can either feel bad for myself, sulk and feel like the world is crashing down, or my second choice is put it behind me and learn from it, grow from it and get ready for a team that is coming into our place that's trying to beat us.'"
